Maryland's Burns glad to be home But Woodlawn grad needs more tickets

Evers Burns looked around a near-empty Baltimore Arena yesterday like some wide-eyed freshman. From a basketball standpoint, this was uncharted territory.

"I was here three years ago for a concert," said Burns.

Tonight, Burns hopes to make his long-awaited homecoming a happy one when Maryland takes on 12th-ranked Oklahoma in an 8 p.m. game. For the 6-foot-8 senior from Woodlawn, this is a special moment.

"Since the game was announced last summer, I've been telling a lot of my friends who can't get down to Cole to come check me out," Burns said after practice yesterday.

His friends and family won't be the only ones who'll be coming to check out Burns. Because a number of players are potential pros -- Oklahoma starts four seniors -- there'll be a few East Coast scouts from the NBA as well.

Burns should get a lot of attention on the court as well, much of it from the Sooners.

Most of the teams Maryland has played lately have double-teamed Burns in the low post, which has resulted in his scoring average dropping from more than 23 early in the season to 19.2.

"I wasn't disappointed with the way I played against Georgia Tech and North Carolina," said Burns. "I didn't start playing like I'm capable until the second half of Florida State.

"I think this is a really big challenge. I'm going to leave everything on the court tomorrow."

Burns has an even bigger task, however.

Finding enough tickets to take care of his large group of family and friends.

"I need about 40 tickets more," he said.

NOTES: Bryan Sallier, Oklahoma's 6-foot-8, 270-pound senior center, sat out yesterday's practice because of bursitis in his knees. . . . As of last evening, there were 750 tickets left for the game, most of them $10 seats. . . . Freshman G Johnny Rhodes broke out of a recent scoring slump with 21 points Saturday at Wake Forest for Maryland (8-5).